Bay Area earthquake destroys 70 buildings in Napa; more than 200 yellow-tagged

Monday many city officials, businesses and residents got to start prioritizing the repair jobs ahead after the 6.0 earthquake hit.

KGO

Monday, August 25, 2014

AMERICAN CANYON, Calif. (KGO) --

Officials around the Bay Area are assessing the damage from yesterday's 6.0 earthquake. An afternoon news conference was held in Napa to give an update on damage to the city. Napa officials said that 70 buildings have been red-tagged and expected that number to grow as inspectors continue to canvass the city. He added, more than 200 buildings have been yellow-tagged.

As of Monday evening, 75 percent of the city has been surveyed by inspectors, according to city officials.

Napa Valley Unified School District campuses were closed Monday and would remain closed Tuesday as building inspections continue. Justin-Siena High School will reopen Tuesday.

Damage from the earthquake could reach $1 billion, according to EQECAT, a company that studies catastrophe risk. That damage estimate is expected to rise because the Napa Valley wine harvest has already begun, EQECAT predicted.

Among the red-tagged buildings is the Napa Senior Center, which is closed until further notice, city officials said. The city's Community Services building and some other city facilities have been yellow-tagged.

Several streets throughout the city, including in the downtown area, remain closed as officials make the inspections to make sure that buildings in the area are not going to collapse.

There were about 90 leaks to water lines from the quake and crews worked all night repaired eight, but much of the city remains without water and service is not expected to be fully restored until Wednesday or Thursday, Napa Public Works Director Jacques LaRochelle said.

The earthquake caught many people sound asleep, sending dressers, mirrors and pictures crashing down around them. Queen of the Valley Medical Center reports that 208 patients were treated in the aftermath of the quake.

Hospital spokesperson Walt Mickens reported that 12 patients were admitted. Seven had orthopedic issues and five were treated for respiratory and cardiac conditions. One is still in the hospital in critical condition. The bulk of patients have been treated and released. Two triage tents that were set up were taken down later Sunday night and the hospital is getting back to normal operations.

Mickens reports that a 13-year-old boy, who was identified as Nicholas Dillon, was brought in and stabilized before being airlifted to another hospital. The teen was injured when pieces of a fireplace fell down on him and fractured his pelvis. He is now being treated at the University of California, Davis Medical Center and is recovering from surgery.

Other serious injuries involved broken bones and other trauma. Mickens says the rest included "mostly lacerations, bumps and bruises" and those patients have been treated and released. Hospital staff said early Sunday evening that they were starting to see a slowdown in the number of patients seeking treatment for earthquake-related injuries.

Several businesses in the downtown Napa area face an uncertain future due to damage sustained in Sunday's powerful earthquake.

The Red Cross reports that two shelters are open for those affected by the quakes at Crosswalk Community Church at 2590 First St. in Napa and Florence Douglas Center at 333 Amador St. in Vallejo.

The Napa Fire Department responded to more than 360 calls for service over the first 30 hours after the 3:20 a.m. quake, including 92 reporting possible gas leaks, 50 for power lines down or other power problems, and 50 fires, including a mobile home park north of the city where four mobile homes were destroyed and two others were damaged, Napa fire Chief Mike Randolph said.

As of 10 a.m. Monday, only 10 PG&E customers remained without power, down from 70,000 in the hours immediately following the earthquake, Parness said. PG&E is still making inspections of damaged buildings for possible gas leaks.

"Very impressive progress has been made in terms of electric and gas," Napa City Manager Mike Parness said. "PG&E has flooded the city with resources."

The city has set up water stations for those without water service and drop boxes for earthquake debris. City officials said many of the damaged buildings recently had seismic retrofit work and that officials will be examining infrastructure to see what improvements will need to be made for future earthquake readiness.

Vallejo city officials held a news conference Monday afternoon on the damage the city sustained. The city has red-tagged seven buildings, including a Post Office at 485 Santa Clara Street. Thirty commercial buildings in Vallejo have been yellow-tagged for partial specified use, including clean-up, city officials said. The First Baptist Church of Vallejo at Sonoma Blvd. and Carolina Streetr has been red-tagged. Officials say the church is in danger of collapsing into Sonoma Blvd. and the streets has been clocked off near the compromised building.

Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency Sunday due to the damage from the quake. The declaration allows all available state resources to be directed toward earthquake response efforts.

Strong to moderate aftershocks are expected over the next seven days following a major 6.0 magnitude quake in Napa early Sunday morning.

Napa Fire Department Operations Chief John Callanan said the city exhausted its own resources trying to extinguish fires after the water mains broke or leaked; transporting injured residents; searching homes for anyone who might be trapped; and responding to reports of gas leaks.

Two of the fires happened at mobile home parks, including one where four homes were destroyed and two others damaged, Callanan said. A ruptured water main there delayed efforts to fight the blaze until pumper trucks could be brought in, he said.

A fire destroyed several mobile homes after a 6.0 earthquake hit the North Bay.

Nola Rawlins, 83, was one of the Napa Valley Mobile Home Park residents rendered homeless by fire. Rawlins said she was awakened by an explosion right after the quake and managed to escape unharmed, but lost all her belongings.

"There were some explosions and it was burning. Everybody was out in the street," she said. "I couldn't get back in the house because they told everybody to go down to the clubhouse, so I didn't get anything out of the house."

* If you smell or hear leaking gas, open your windows and get everyone out of the building right away. Turn off gas at service (if residential) and notify PG&E immediately. Customers can contact PG&E at www.pge.com or call 1-800-PGE-5002.

* If you smell smoke, get everyone out of the building. Use a fire extinguisher to put out small fires. Don't use water on electrical or gas fires.